That Uruguayans like meat is well known, not just since this World Cup; lesser known is the fact that they have quite a sweet tooth, as the dessert 'Chajá' demonstrates: it consists of layers of sponge, meringue, whipped cream, apricots and - sometimes - dulce de leche, a South American concoction of caramelised condensed milk.

You’ll need: a sponge, bought or made (I have a very light version on Gingerandbread.com), meringues (ditto), 8 apricots, sliced and sugared, 400ml whipping cream, whipped, and – if you can get hold of it, around 100g of dulce de leche. In addition you need to prepare a syrup by boiling 200ml water in which you dissolve 100g sugar and any apricot juice you can retrieve.

A little experiment of fusion cuisine. I have taken inspiration from "Arroz con pollo" a typical Costa Rican chicken recipe and I have made an italian version with traditional food from Abruzzo. I have replaced the rice with farro and achiote with saffron. The result has been very exciting !

This aptly named recipe is my take on a Nicoise chickpea flour pancake (known as farinata and cecina in various parts of Italy). It's traditionally served with a pissaladiere type topping. It looks like pizza, but it's healthier and protein rich

Delicious! I adapted this from a tapa I ate in a bodega in Sevilla (where pigs legs hung from the ceiling). I ordered the unusual dish twice, not just because it was the only thing I could eat it in that porcine morgue but because it was scrumptious! Here I’ve put it in pastry and with roasted potato wedges, asparagus and salad leaves to make an amazing main course

For the recipe got to http://carrotsandclaret.com/aromatic-spinach-and-chickpea-tart/

These pasties are absolutely gorgeous: filled with beaf, boiled egg, raisins and olives, they hit all the right notes. The way they are traditionally folded helps you to hold on to them without spilling any of the filling!